Times are tough, and nobody knows it better than Family Dollar, Dollar General and the other "dollar" stores that have been growing while more upscale retailers have been stalled.
Hard times are not necessarily bad for the dollar store business, CEO Howard Levine told investors recently. "Times are tough, and our customers are buying what they need, not what they want," he said last Thursday at the company's annual meeting.
Levine said the retailer is taking steps to ensure it appeals to both "core customers" and new "trade-down customers."
An analysis of about 110,000 consumer comments on blogs and social networks found the chain of small discount stores with a relatively stable net positive sentiment over the last year, with spurts of dissastisfaction during the holiday shopping season.
Levine said he plans to open 450 to 500 new stores this year while renovating another 1,000. The company currently operates at 7,100 stores nationwide.
Besides adding stores, Levine said the company will open a new distribution center to serve its stores in California as it opens new locations there.
We found consumers basically expressing approval of Family Dollar's low prices.
